The African Development Bank Group’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) kicked off a four-day learning event focused on practical ways to improve women entrepreneurs’ access to finance and other economic opportunities across Africa.
Hosted jointly with the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), a World Bank hosted partnership, the 22-25 September session brings together representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank Group, as well as the We-Fi Secretariat.
The African Development Bank’s Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility, which also receives We-Fi financing, is participating.
The event combines visits to financial institutions and women-owned businesses in Côte d’Ivoire with peer-learning and working sessions on digital finance, business growth, research, care services, networks, market access, technology and climate innovation. It showcases the real-life impact of the African Development Bank’s partnership in building women-led businesses across the continent.
“Our collaboration clearly illustrates the approach we are taking across Africa: working hand in hand with financial institutions, through guarantees and technical assistance, so that they can better meet the needs of women-led businesses,” Melissa Basque-Roux, AFAWA’s Coordinator, said at the opening session.
On the first day, delegates visited NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire, a subsidiary of the pan-African NSIA Group, which employs a range of financial tools to support women-owned businesses. “We are convinced that women entrepreneurs play a decisive role in the economic development of our country,” said NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire’s Deputy General Manager, Sékou Chérif Sanogo
“We are committed, in partnership with African Development Bank, to offering women entrepreneurs tailored financing solutions as well as local support. This enables them to achieve their ambitions and sustainably develop their businesses.”
Delegates also met three entrepreneurs funded by AFAWA and NSIA: Ariane Monney, owner of the Casa Èkwa restaurant and hospitality business; Yvette Yelematou Soro of construction firm Lemias Engineering; and Blandine Koffi, owner of Poisson d’Afrique, a fisheries business.
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